Do you remember The Amazing Randi? No? You should. James Randi was an amazing sleight-of-hand magician and illusionist, who was also a world-class, lifelong skeptic, like Harry Houdini before him. A guy who knows more than almost anybody on earth about how to create illusions … and how to show how other people were making illusions that they were using to lie to folks and make a buck. For many many years, Randi showed exactly how to break a con artist’s game, right when they were trying to cheat the world with a flat-out lie. And Oh No Ross & Carrie carries on that tradition on a weekly basis.
Ross Blodger and Carrie Poppy of Oh No, Ross and Carrie have no official connection with the formal Skeptic’s Society or its publications, but they are on the same mission: … so you don’t have to.” Yup: They show up at the rallies and events and conventions, they take the ridiculously expensive ‘readings’ and ‘classes;’ they buy the ridiculous products and test them scientifically, and they report it all back to us with great care, specificity and humor. And then they use a whole pile of pesky ‘facts’’ – you remember those, right? ‘Facts’. People used to collect them and value them highly, like Faberge Eggs or All American Girl Dolls – to expose the charlatans and stop the madness. They’ve been doing it for years now, and they’re really good at it, and great fun to listen to.
The information (and misinformation) they relay is invaluable, but just as important – beyond how thorough they are, and how clear in their thinking or honest about their skepticism. — is their un-ignorable sense of fun. They love doing this stuff, and we are the beneficiaries.
It’s fascinating and more than a little funny to watch them do the job. They think critically. They think logically. They require proof and take everything, no matter how wonderful and reasonable it sounds, with a grain of salt. They’re not close-minded. They’re not dogmatic “non-believers.” They just require proof and honesty. And when they find it, they acknowledge it, and when they don’t … you’d best watch yourself.
I admit, back in the old days, skeptics – even the beloved James Randi – could be a little humorless and self-righteous. There were times when you’d almost hate agreeing with them because they were so pleased with themselves at proving everyone else wrong. Not so Oh No Ross & Carrie There’s a warmth to them both, as well as that sense of humor, that makes you want more, not less.
So give ‘em a try. If you have any doubts about what’s real, what’s wishful thinking, and what are just plain lies to pick your pocket, Ross & Carrie will put them to rest… and then fill up that empty space with certainty and even more questions, like “Why do people still belief in this stuff anyway?”
